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2017-09-29 - Game Over
---- Cammi: We're screwed. I've spent the last three months running a con on a Badoon spice outpost. One you've learned to read the inner eyelid twitches of homocidal lizard men, human facial expressions are about as subtle as a jumbotron. This group might as well be shouting at each other. Or at themselves. Easily. Manipulated. Morons. Why am I surrounded by these people? The punisher here is in love with axe bro, who can't even tell. Fish girl is hot for all of them. And we're sitting here waiting for them to come over the hill for this crate of food, with Spice running all of them. I finally figured her out at least. Liar. I wonder if I get to be the next killer...because someone has to do it. ---- Damian, Deathlok, Aquagirl, the slightly glowing Nico Minoru, and Spice are traipsing over a hill. Nearly there, and tensions are high. Spice is talking all the way, trying to explain. "Spice isn't evil, she's just programmed to survive at all costs. I know that you don't believe it but it's true, we all know the way out of here. I guess she's just better at admitting it." "The way out? You mean, playing the game?" Damian asks shaking his head. Awhile I ago he might have agreed, but then he'd all but killed a friend. "No. There has to be another way out of here." He just didn't know what it was yet. "But no more killing, from either of you." Nico Minoru floats along behind the group, looking a little like a magic charm or a bad acid trip. Her eyes are glowing, which is a bit of a new effect for her. "I'd still like to see if Arcade adjusted for magic when he built his little defense system, personally." Voice sounds normal. Grumpy and annoyed. Therefore normal. Michael Collins nods at Damian, agreeing with him entirely,"Yeah. Arcade thinks he's proving something against all of us. He might with some of us, but we shouldn't be those. Got it?" Mike has been following, mostly quiet as he periodically eyes Spice with his arms folded. He's generally back to his former spirits now that he knows what went down. It did a lot for his conscience. While Dedrick's injuries weren't life threatening, they had taken their toll. It had taken several days and the remainder of his high protien bars to do it, but he was back in fighting condition. With the exception of a few scars he felt pretty good and well rested. Streaking across the sky at a low altitude, he catches up with the small group of Nico, Deathlock, Damian and the others. He drops onto the ground a small ways from the group in a crouch. His white aura flares slightly before retracting into his body. Vanguard exhales slightly. "Good to know you're all still alive. What's the situation?" Spice is tied up, but a quick explanation may or may not explain to Dedrick's satisfaction. She bites her lower lip, trying not to look too worried of how he'll feel when he finds out that she was messing with his gear all this time. With everyone's gear; nobody really full sensors back even now. Which is why it's a bit of a surprise when they crest a hill and see a crate of food up ahead, on the edge of a lake. With Bloodstone, Cammi, and Anachronism standing in front of it. Armed where possible: Anachronism has his axe out, Cammi her pistol, and Bloodstone seems to have gotten ahold of a bazooka somehow. None of them look exactly thrilled. Dedrick was the last person Damian wanted to see and of course he asks the one thing Damian didn't want to answer. "Dedrick, we need to speak," he says quietly, eyes downcast. Still, he moves forward which brings the others into view. "What the hell?" he breathes then strides quickly around Dedrick to move towards the Trio. "What happened to you?" Nico Minoru floats up in the air a bit, not sure if she should be shooting someone yet or not. Or at all. Or if that's just a play that Arcade has made to make this worse. But she's not impressed with the drawn weaponry as a greeting style. "Deathlok didn't do it, don't shoot!" Michael Collins will keep his arms folded and let the others speak up first, suspecting they'd listen to them before he. He purses his lips ever so slightly, uncertain that even that is the whole reason for this but confident it will play itself out. Dedrick murmurs, "Sure, Damian." His gaze follows the others to where the trio are. "Later though. I get the feeling I've missed out on a lot." He turns and begins walking with the group. "After Spice patched me up as best she could, it took time for my body to heal. I'm not at full strength, but I'm back in fighting condition." He then falls silent for a moment. "But what concerns me is that my tech was missing when I woke up." He shifts his gaze over to Spice briefly before looking back at the trio and then over to Deathlok. "What did you do?" Aquagirl nudges Dedrick with her hip. "Spice did that to you. I left you fish." She smiles, shrugging, and seems fairly unworried. But her eyes are on the new possible threat of the trio ahead. Who are supposed to be on their team, and at least one of which is a smart one that she's learned to trust. Cammi, why are you so upset? Damian plants himself about ten feet away from the trio. "What's this about? Deathlok? I can explain that, just put down your weapons and we'll talk," he says, his tone is sharp but there is a note of exhaustion there for those who are listing for such things. Up ahead, Cammi calls out, "Stop! Just stay right there!" She isn't lowering her pistol, nor are the other two dropping their guard. She isn't aiming it at Damian, but the command is fairly universal. How do I do this. I'm gonna die. "Spice is manipulating you, get away from her." Anachronism however is looking at Deathlok. "He shot me!" Which is when Cammi turns and smacks him in the head with her hand. "I explained this, you tool! He's on your side." Damian plants himself about ten feet away from the trio. "What's this about? Deathlok? I can explain that, just put down your weapons and we'll talk," he says, his tone is sharp but there is a note of exhaustion there for those who are listing for such things. Nico settles to the ground. She puts away her staff and effectively disarms herself, but she's still glowing a bit. Not something she can do much about but it's a white flag. She isn't being hostile. "Putting it away, calm down." Michael Collins clears his throat as he speaks up finally,"Spice had control of me. That's...sorted for now." Mike eyes her pointedly, then looks to the gathered group and continues,"I'm sorry we didn't see it until then." From afar, Caitlin Fairchild is of the 'if I need psecific things from players, I ask them by pageif it's okay to helpadvance the plot'. Spice speaks up, saying, "I think she's going to shoot me in the head..." Ded takes a moment to flash a smile at Aquagirl. "Thanks for that." He notices that the three are on guard, despite their words. He looks at Spice and then back to the three. "Spice probably saved my life. So I owe her a degree of thanks for that. With that being said.." He shrugs. "Taking control of a guy is not the way to gain trust. And Cammi isn't going to shoot her in the head..right Cammi?" "She might, if she's smart," says Arcade as he walks up to the group. He's wearing a nice white suit with a green undershirt and a yellow tie, his long red hair flowing in the breeze. And is probably still a hologram knowing him. Cammi immediately responds by trying to shoot HIM in the head, which passes right through him proving the point. She cusses fluently and narrows her eyes. "Can we talk?" Arcade folds his hands together, shaking his head. "I need to explain something to everyone, and we're finally together, all one big happy family, seems like a good time." Cammi's shot isn't alone, Damian hurls a batarang through the hologram as well. Yeah, his speech about not killing earlier, didn't include Arcade. When it's clear Arcade is still hiding behind holos, Damian crosses his arms and listens. Michael Collins narrows his one living eye at Arcade and snorts,"You talk all you want." It isn't as if he sees an alternative. The big cyborg Deathlok stares at the dapper hologram, running a continual scan on it to hopefully find some clue. Surely it's being projected from somewhere, after all. An eldrich bolt goes through Arcade's guts as well, but the fact that Nico can project them from her new purple hand is a bit of a surprise to her. Apparently she doesn't need the staff to do everything anymore. "I have nothing to say to you, old man. Except that we're coming for you." Holograms need holo emitters to work properly. Which means they have to be installed somewhere. Unfortunately without his visor he has no way to scan for them. Which is why Dedrick heaves a slight sigh when Arcade shows up to gloat. He had never seen a face that he would actually enjoy bashing in until now. He stares at the hologram while trying to contain his anger. If he gets angry, he can't think rationally, and that could get him and his companions killed. Arcade takes that mixed reaction as it is, and shakes his head. "I probably shouldn't have shown myself, now you've all got this big evil to focus on and you're friends again. The thing is, you're forgetting some things and I can't let you do it to yourselves. And no, this isn't my chance to gloat. Relax, we're not friends but I think I've gotten to know you all a bit over the last month." Cammi's eyes open at that comment, and she starts messing around with her space suit frantically in the background. Just ignore me, I'm nobody. Arcade continues, knowing he's got a bit of a captive audience and loving an audience, he does. "See...you're some of the best survivors I've ever had in a trap. And I've had the lot, all of them from the biggest to the smallest. I see some survivors, some brilliant strategists fighting for your lives. But have you forgotten about the outside world? There are some of you, some very few, who won't be seen well when you get out. And there is only one way out." "Keep in mind, whoever wins gets to tell the story any way they want. How will the world see you when you walk out of here? I haven't controlled anyone, you can verify that when you get down here and look at the systems. So when I release the tape of all this...it's all on you. Unless you are the one who wins." Spice looks horrified. She just does, she wasn't aware they were being filmed. Of course he'd be filming it all. Of course. "So what?" Damian says about being filmed. He knew what his sins were and he would face them. To prove the point he turns to Dedrick. "Vanguard, Starfire is dead and it's my fault." Michael Collins isn't the slightest bit shocked at all of this. The man is a psychopath, of course he'd film his supposed triumph. Deathlok just continues watching and scanning. He is scanning in every way available to his formidable network, leaving nothing to chance given everything that has happened. Deathlok is reasonably sure that this will be yet another media fiasco for the Avengers. They know him, but the rest of the world doesn't. This is frustrating, in a word. Deathlok looks to Damian and retorts,"No, it wasn't. She's dead because this holographic reject drug her here. Don't blame yourself." Nico, being a fairly new entry to this situation, hasn't done as much. But she knows how what she is will look to the world. Frowning she looks at her arm, realizing how creepy she is. How she happily tried to kill Arcade a moment ago. No, that can't stop me from doing what's right. The kids will cheer when I get home. Cammi is talking to Anachronism quickly, in quiet words. "No, you can't be like he wants you to be. He's an idiot, the world won't hurt us. We're KIDS! They'll look at us and say that we were put in here, too young, and we'll be made into a story on the news and then they'll forget us. Maybe therapy, I don't know, Kid Briton wasn't your fault. Look at me, look me in the eyes Aaron." Dedrick figured they were being watched. How else could Arcade know what they've been doing, as well as leaving them random surprises. He absently rubs his chest where he was shot. However all of that comes to a screeching halt when Damian tells him that Starfire is dead and that he's the cause. His body jerks slightly like he had been shot. "What?" He asks in a whisper before leaning over slightly and placing his hands on his knees. "What the hell did you just say?" When Starfire's sister almost killed her, he visited her frequently in the Titan medical bay a couple times a week while she healed. For her to survive that, only to be killed in this place? The hold that he had over his anger begins to slip. His entire body shakes as he stares at the hologram. From his body language, one can probably tell that if Arcade was actually here, Vanguard might suspend his no killing policy. "He's right. It's not your falt. It's his." He sinks down to a knee and places his hand on the ground. There is a large vein that is throbbing in his forehead. He closes his eyes briefly before opening them again and they're glowing solid white. "Arcade. You WILL pay for this. Even if I have to rip this entire place apart to find you. The real you." Arcade, sitting down in an invisible chair, steeples his fingers. "I get that, it's the way I'd feel too in your places. Seriously, this has been the best time of my life and I appreciate every one of you. Just one more thing though, since you all know it's a deathtrap, and I am planning to make you all die like supergirl at the end if it doesn't end right." With his eyes wide, his grin deep, and his heart beating fast, Arcade asks, "Does any one of you know how much time you have left?" Which is when Cammi snaps off her wrist display as quickly as she can. And shuts her mouth tight-lipped, so hard her lips are turning white. Damian doesn't flinch from Dedrick's reaction and when he is forgiven, he frowns. He had not expected it. In fact he'd hoped someone would be as angry at him as he was. Though it wasn't to be. He turns back to Arcade. "What do you mean how much time left?" he asks and then looks to Cammi when she clearly has a timepiece. "How long?" he asks. Michael Collins knits his brow at that. His mind whirring at this declaration. He'll reply to his coldly,"You do realize...when you killed her, you lost?" Deathlok's hand is inclined towards his plasma pistol. It's a feat of restraint that he doesn't glass the ground where it stands. He knows it's pointless, but he really /really/ is getting pissed. Cammi doesn't respond. She doesn't need to, looking Batwing in the eyes. Then, with slow deliberation she opens her timepiece to show the holographic countdown. Eight short hours left in the game, ticking down with methodical precision, for everyone to see. Nico Minoru says it, because nobody else is going to. On camera, because it needs saying. "Well...fuck." Eight hours left. Damian steels himself against the sinking feeling that goes through him at the news. He makes himself stand straighter. "Okay then, we need to focus and find a way out of here," he says to the group, staring at them through the white eyes of his mask. "Who's with me?" Dedrick stands up. "It's not even a question. I'm with you." He looks around at the others. "You to make this bastard pay for what he's doing..what he did? Or do you want to stand there with your tail between your legs and let him push you around? I am SO done playing now." Michael Collins pages: Would it makes sense for Spice to try to stop Deathlok if he goes after Dedrick mano y mano? You paged Michael Collins with 'No, not in this situation. Especially since it's her pose and I'm about to have her go completely fucking insane. Though I can have her control you for that purpose if you think it'd help.' Long distance to Michael Collins: Zack is willing to give you an idea of what's about to happen so we can make it better for the story. It's a good bunch of speeches. But after all that's happened, it's just that. Words. And not everyone seems to be stepping up, not anymore. Most noteably Spice, who is hanging her head quietly. Til now. Spice looks at the fading hologram of Arcade as he vanishes, like a grinning cheshire cat. Then she says, "Well...I suppose that's it then. All I wanted was to get out alive, I hope you can all beieve that. I'm a survivor, not a psychopath. Not like...him." "The computer in my head? It was put in to keep me from using my mutant powers. It's an inhibitor, and you turned it off with that rock to my skull I'm sorry for this, but.. I want to live..." As the reason why she's been messing with all of your sensors is made far too apparent, and a Sentinel lands with a crash out of the sky right in front of her. And then...another one. She has two of them. And Deathlok's eyes gray out again, his weapons charging up. Damian whirls at Spice's words. "Don't let him do this. You're going to kill us all!" he says meaning more for the waste of time it's going to take to take her out than the sentinels though they're a problem too. A big one. Damian moves quickly, he grabs some sleep pellets from his belt and hurls them at Spice. Trying to take her out quick and keep moving so he's not a easy target for Mike or the sentinels. Arcade's voice echoes, "I've had Spice in my winner's slot since day two down here. You people really need to learn to read people better." Then he's gone, to watch the grand finale. He thinks. Cammi moves. Where, why, she's all kind of odd, because she's going to hide behind Nico. Staying alive, but can be heard to mumble, "yeah..about that..." Nico, beginning to glow, cuts herself to call out the Staff. The time she takes is enough to send Cammi to some cover. "That makes no sense, go hide if you're scared!" She rises up in the air, aiming at a Sentinel, then launches a blast at it. "Crush, Crumble and Chomp!" The dinosaur that appears to tackle the Sentinel looks oddly like Godzilla, and appears to be a fair match for it's opponent. Dedrick floats up into the air. "Spice, I find your lack of faith in people disturbing. That was your first mistake. The second?" He flies towards the other Sentinel and then attempts to rip it's head off and then fire one of his blasts down into it's chassis. "Was letting me get pissed off." Aquagirl leaps forward to try to engage another of the big robots. Then pauses, shocked, and calls out, "Juston's inside this one! Don't kill him!" She intentionally gts in Dedrick's way, trying to keep him from murdering someone by accident. Michael Collins will march over to Dedrick's location, his plasma pistol in hand quickdrawn to fire a snapshot at the flying man. His beam will arc across the Sentinel's torso, his head rip well timed as it soaks up his burst. Deathlok's human lips are moving all the while... With the sentinels and Deathlok engaged Batwing takes a quick glance at the group before he makes his run on Spice. "Stop this now!" he shouts hurling a couple of bladed batarangs at her shoulders as he launches a leaping kick towards her face. Spice keeps the Sentinel in the way, but she reaches up and catches the batarang when the ever-skilled Damian throws it at her. The lasers in her fingers slice it to bits, clearly not just toys or connection devices. Then are in the way when he goes to kick, forcing him to pull it or lose the leg. "Don't think I want this! Give me any other way out, anything! We've been searching for a month and you know it!" The Sentinel battling the magical Godzilla seems to be losing, slowly, though the magical beast begins to fade quickly as well. So it's holding but only for a moment. Almost looks like they belong in a scale model of Tokyo though...until the great beast fades, and the Sentinel takes a rocket launcher round in the chest from Bloodstone! The smoke clears, and out of it the Sentinel's great hand reaches out and crushes the boy's rocket launcher, and part of his hand, then drops him as not a threat. Then turns to face off against Nico Minoru with flamethrowers. In the background, Anachronism moves to help Bloodstone. He drags the kid to safety quickly, just in case something steps on him. "Um..." Nico says, as her spell wears off. She shakes the staff a little like she's trying to get it to work better, then tries again. "Hammer Time!" she says, and a ball peen hammer appears in her free hand. Which she throws at the Sentinel while dodging frantically in the air. "Staff, I swear I will throw you into the god damned river and walk away if you don't do something useful!" Aquagirl's declaration is enough to stay Vanguard's hand from blasting the inside of the Sentinel. He then looks at Deathlok, his brain trying to figure out a way to take him down without causing any lasting harm. With Damien fighting Spice, he takes off towards the good doctor. He would attempt to get him in a bear hug to pin his arms down. "Fight it, man. Please tell me that you're not this easily controlled?" He frowns. "The fact that she'd use Sentinels to fight already disturbs me on a level that I just can't express currently." Aquagirl is tearing the arm off of the Sentinel, easily as strong as Dedrick is. But she's looking worried, like she's not sure what to do or what shape her friend will be in or...anything! This is horrible! "At least it can't get any worse!" Michael Collins is grappled, and he'll struggle with a titanic force. His arms and torso whir with the effort, though his pistol is out of the fight as he has no shot on anyone at this time. He'll whisper something too quiet for human ears. Over in the background, Anachronism is taking care of Bloodstone. Cammi ends up nearby too, and the two of them are trying to help, but Anachronism's voice calls out, "Um...guys? I think we have bigger problems." Bloodstone isn't crying at the pain. Tough kid, he's holding his hand tightly, trying to hold onto it, but Cammi backs slowly away. One step at a time, then another, clearly worried about something that has her on edge more than a pair of Sentinels and a rampaging Deathlok. Because Bloodstone's hand is glowing. Anachronism says, "I think they broke his ring.." And Bloodstone says, "I....can't....stop...it!" as he looks into his Brother's eyes, begging him to kill him. Before this gets immeasurably worse. The finger lasers scorch Damian's leg as he pulls it back and lands hard on the ground. It hurts, but he can deal with that later. He rolls and gets up facing Deathlok for a moment. He sees his lips move and understands. Before he can put a plan into action he hears Bloodstone's scream and rounds in a hurry. This was all falling apart. He had to move. So he rushes towards Bloodstone as fast as his bad leg can carry him, shouting to Nico "Can your staff fix the ring?" Nico gets out of range of the Sentinel, calling "Just...give me a second.." and decides to go to hell if it means saving her friends. That's where she's going anyway. "Fuck it, BURIED ALIVE!" she yells, aiming her staff at Spice, and the girl gets treated to a dose of quicksand. Reaching, grasping quicksand as she gets to spend a little bit of time out of contact. The team can dig her up in a minute after they're done with the demon problem. Spice gets to panic a little. She stops with the dodging hits, and is sucked into the ground screaming in terror! Unable to actually DO anything fancy like all the others, she's just not equipped for this. Not for magic...and her pale left hand slips underground in a bare moment. The Sentinels and Michael keep trying to fight, showing that she's not dead. Ded hears Michael's whispers and understands it. However, he can't let him go because he's still trying to shoot everyone. At this point, he's just trying to keep him from moving much. "I think I missed that part. But how bad is it that his ring might be broken?" He calls out. Michael Collins will yell at Spice since she is clearly not getting the message. Mad as he is, he really /really/ doesn't want anyone else to die,"PAY ATTENTION!" Mike yells that even as his Computer driven body continues to try to break free from the incredibly strong Dedrick. A Sentinel arm hits the other sentinel in the face, knocking it over. Aquagirl is apparently capable of handling two of them herself, but is a bit distracted by what she finds inside. "He's...oh god he's dead. I think he's been dead for weeks!" She's looking at Juston's body, held inside his best friend. Who kept protecting him even after death. Damian turns as Spice goes down and some very Wayne part of him reacts. He dives forward reaching for her hand to save her rather than let her go down. "Fix the ring, Witch!" is his last words before being dragged down by Spice's weight and vanishes from sight. Nico Minoru, cosplayer and dark arts trainee, flies in and lands by Bloodstone. She listens to it, letting the staff touch the ring. "I...don't know, maybe? I might be able to stop it? I'll try." She puts some pressure in, and purple magic flows. Bloodstone says, "Kill me, it's the only way to stop it now," as the magic stalls the effect. He looks up, tentacles visibly rising from his body...slowly, and Anachronism holds his hand as tightly as he can. The sentinels stop, and Deathlok is suddenly freed of his bondage. Able to act, that is. Still holding on to Deathlok, Dedrick's eyes go wide as Damian is dragged down into the quicksand along with Spice. "Batwing!" He wants to help him, but he can't take the chance of letting the cyborg go. He made a promise to himself, to dig him out as soon as all of this is over. Then the ring shatters, and Bloodstone's eyes go red as hell. And the demon rises, three stories tall and ready to eat. Hungry...it hasn't eaten a soul since it got a taste of Starfire. It didn't get her, and it wants to feed. Michael Collins stops fighting Dedrick, stating,"I can go after them. I won't drown with my helmet on, and I'm strong enough to break out of there. Let me get after them." Mike looks up at the demon, eye narrowing as he hrms. Unsure what exactly he's supposed to do about a full on demon. Nico is in the air. She's shouting spells she's never had the guts to use, ever, but has saved for just this type of occasion. Missiles are hitting this thing, literal missiles. Meteors. The ground tries to hold it in place, and spears pierce it from all angles. Anything and everything she can think of that'll do damage...because she knows she's basically fucked now. Oh hell. Literally. Dedrick releases Michael and then nods to him. "Do what you can. I guess the rest of us will have to deal with that." He motions towards the demon. An exasperated look comes across his face. "Nightwing told me when I joined up that there would be days like this. Why, oh why didn't I listen?" He flies up into the air and aims his fist at the demon before firing his blasts towards it in addition to Nico's barrage. Aquagirl is throwing rocks. Trying to beat it with bits of Sentinel. Whatever she can do. "We'll do it together, then. Maybe Bloodstone will be the one who lives, eh? Eh?" She's actually able to joke, even now. Good kid. Michael Collins produces his helmet from a torso compartment, then charges off to the quicksand. He can't save everyone, but he's sure he can at least save one. Hopefully two, as bittersweet as that would be. A part of him wonders how far down the quicksand goes with that consideration, and in he'll dive with his adamantium helmet on his head to protect his organics. Cammi watches quietly. She bites her lip, hoping that telling Nico about the underground fortress will help. And that Damian and Spice are the right ones to send down there. Damian might not have what it takes, after all. ---- The son of the Dark Knight wakes up coughing mud out of his mouth. He isn't alone, but finding Spice vomiting mud next to him isn't exactly the best choice of his day. She looks at him, wondering how they survived, and mouths 'where are we?' as if she's still on their side. She really doesn't see herself as evil, after all. And in the background, you can hear Arcade's voice going, "That was...incredible. Best deaths yet, I swear. Get the cameras on auto-shift, my kids deserve the best." The room is an odd one, it appears to be a collection of...bodies. Some tiny bits of what might have been Starfire in a vat, floating as specimens. Red Raven, on a table, her lack of wings still a dark sight after all this time. Kid Briton's head in a vat, and his body on a table nearby. And another body under a sheet, hidden but with all kinds of tubes going into it. Caitlin Fairchild eyes Zack. You glorious SOB Michael Collins seconds that. Nico Minoru just claps slowly. Damian Wayne grins. Dedrick Jones says, "Damn. Just...damn." Damian covers his mouth with his arm to stifle his coughs trying to time them with Arcade's words to further cover the noise. Once he stops he looks to Spice and mouths 'Arcade's control room' he looks around and adds to himself 'And morgue.' The sight reminded him of home. Not Wayne Manor, his home before that on Isle Murjeno where his mother kept his spare parts. Damian's blood runs cold and he looks towards the table with all the tubes. Gripped with morbid curiosity he turns to Spice and puts a finger to his lips and gestures for her to stay put, then moving as silent as shadow he makes his way to the table and pulls back the sheet. Spice doesn't look impressed. She knows that she just attacked everyone, but this is what she wanted. Another option...and one that's off-camera. She slips out while Damian is working, her heart racing but in another direction. Apparently she has her own things to do. As Deathlok comes down from the ceiling, just as Damian pulls back the sheet to show short black hair on a young lady, her body as pristine as the day she was born. Also as naked, but that's what happens when your body explodes. And is, somehow, whole again. Superman's daughter, Cir-El, sleeping on a table. The tubes going into her seem to be shunting what appears to be pure sunlight, and the gauges on the wall back it up. Somehow, for some unknown reason in his plan, Arcade has brought her back from the dead. Michael Collins keeps his helmet on his head as he can see just fine with it and is doubtlessly safer in this uncertain location. He'll remove his rifle from his back as he takes stock of this place with a disturbed pause. So many corpses and 'specimens'. He notes Cir-El on the table as Damian pulls her sheet back with a surprise that distracts him from Spice going away to do her thing, whatever it may be that he possibly doesn't actually want to know about. When his shock begins to pass, Mike powers up his rifle. Revisiting his first day here, it seems poetic that he should use the solar wavelength that he devised. Damian hears Mike's landing and turns ducking low so he's got a line of escape under the table as two batarangs appear in his hand. Seeing who it is though and what he's doing, Damian puts the pieces together and moves quickly out of the way. Upstairs: The heroes are losing. Visible on cameras below, they can be seen battling from all angles, the cameras are designed to catch all of the action. It's impossible to look any direction without being confronted by the image of them, as Nico blasts with spells, clutching her shoulder and unable to fly anymore. Cammi fires at the demon beast's legs, trying to slow it down but the look on her face as the camera captures it is exquisite torture. Anachronism's axe is stuck in the demon's right eye, and he lays unconscious on the ground, bent in half. Dedrick looks little better, and Aquagirl is nowhere to be seen. The demon is missing a tooth, but that seems to be regrowing. Downstairs, the sound of something hitting a soft and squishy human is the music that meets the heroe's ears, as they move to try and free the one person who might be able to match this Demon power for power. Nico tries to keep from bleeding on the sand. Nice sand, soft and warm. Oh wait, giant demon. Right. "Holy Light.." she tries, getting tired. So many times she's gotten slapped down lately. Just got back from death, this is totally not fair at all. And a blessing from ...somewhere that's bad for the demon comes down from above, trying that one. Maybe she can do something after all. The outline of the massive cybernetic war machine is shrouded save for the weapon it holds levelled at the back of Arcade. The lights on the big rifle swirl from green to yellow...then inexhorably to violet. The weapon in Deathlok's grasp will hum as it charges up. He'll calmly state in a voice dripping with cold rage,"Batwing, take cover. Solar grenade." Deathlok may just be at his limit. He may just break it here and now for Arcade, a man who has done worse than kill an untold number. Damian does indeed take cover, in fact he slips out of the room entirely and crouches down near the door to Arcade's chamber beyond. He wanted eyes on the psycho and a look at his control room too. Maybe there was something he could do with it. Dedrick gets back to his feet with one eye closed and blood seeping out of it. "What the hell is it going to take to do any lasting damage to this thing?" Not to mention how could someone justify having a ring with this inside of it? "Well, Nico. I suppose we all have to die sometime. Just wish I got around to getting married. And having kids. Ah well. Life sucks and then you die." With a yell he flies off in an attempt to attack it physically. Again. The solar grenade flashes. Not yellow, not even red..but violet, something that has never been tried on this particular breed of demi-kryptonian according to the STAR lab files in Michael's head. She shivers under the blast, then her eyes snap open with what appears to be red flame. And her hands open, fire coursing out of her as she looks around the room. Clearly confused. "What..." Cir-El is awake. And...apparently, on fire. Arcade isn't. There's a lump hammer behind him that appears to be connected to the dent in his skull and the blood on the floor, but Spice is sitting at his computer station, her fingers plugged into it. "About time you got here," she says. "The automatic systems have started up. You wouldn't believe all the things he hasn't used on us all this time." She's focusing inside, trying to do something with the computers as she ignores the fleshy person in the white suit on the floor. "Oh my god, it's all starting up. Man eating insects, something called napalm winds...he's weaponized the bloody sand! They're going to die out there!" Upstairs, it gets...worse. As Aquagirl crawls back from the place she was thrown, she's met by a horde of killer insects..the sand begins to suck down Cammi and Anachronism, and the air itself turns to fire around Dedrick. AND the demon, who is apparently suddenly distracted a little. Feels kind of like home. Damian walks over Arcade's prone form and drops a sleep pellet on him as he passes. Dead, not dead, he didn't want him getting up. Taking the breather from his belt he sticks it on his face and looks at the screens. He had significant knowledge of computers but he guesses this is a bit beyond his skill, he looks to Spice lifting the mask a second. "Can you stop it or at least get the holo system working? We need to get them down here." From afar, Caitlin Fairchild can totes if you want after they get out the distress call bring in the Freelance Peacekeeping Agent to yoink off Arcade for a messy fate? Nico, being assaulted by EVERYTHING, says, "I'm guessing that time's up, folks...looks like we ran out the clock after all." She looks up at the demon, plugging it's mouth for one more time with a blast of purple energy, then she grins. Giving a thumbs-up to Cammi, she calls out the one thing that she knows to do. "Only one thing to do then, folks," she says as she finally finds enough energy to fly once more, wielding eldrich lightning like a sword. In the face of failure, you don't. Give. Up. "TRY NOT TO DIE!" Michael Collins marches over to Spice, spinning Arcade's chair around to eye the dead maniac and experience some measure of relief that he didn't actually do the deed. A good portion of him is likely scorched from the intense thermic radiation he'd just released. Shame he didn't feel it, oh well. Mike looks to Spice, and adds to Damian's questions before stepping over to check on Supergirl,"Do what you can." Mike looks her over, some concern beneath his helmet at the power she is radiating. He'd fully intended to overwhelm what Arcade was doing to keep her down, but dayum. Spice, however, is fighting the system with all she's got. And is probably the only one who could, it's true. "It's alien tech, it's hard to do anything at all with. I don't think he did this himself...maybe if we just shoot it." Or shoot him, she's thinking. Also how she's still going to be the real villain once this is over...and hiding it from everyone as best as she can. She knows what she's done, as she meets Arcade's eyes. Cir-El looks at the ones who've brought her out of the coma. Looking around, she sees what's happening. Hard to miss, and she says, "Well if that isn't just the most overly dramatic thing ever...excuse me guys." Then she's gone, heading upward. The sand explodes, as the demon is thrown up into the air. FAR into the air, slamming it against the indestructible ceiling, as a naked girl with short hair keeps punching it. Not slowing down either, and her hands are emitting a flame that slices right through it. She stops, Cir-El aiming her hands at the falling beast, and the flame that comes from her is enough to rip the thing nearly in half! She holds down the attack button, as the beast STILL TRIES TO FIGHT BACK, and slashes her across the face with magical claws! Michael Collins will level the barrel of his weapon at Arcade, stating firmly,"Tell us how to turn this crap off and it'll be quick. Elsewise, I can let Spicegirl have her way." Deathlok shows no evidence of bluffing. Likely he isn't, not after having shot that grenade. His expression is utterly blank beneath his helmet. He has no compassion left in him for Arcade. Dedrick would have kept on attacking, that is until the air itself catches on fire. As durable as he is, he still needs to breathe. He slaps his arm over his nose and mouth and tries to manuver to where there might be some fresh air somewhere. Damian steadies himself as Cir-El explodes up and out of the underground bunker. Once he's got his feet he turns to Deathlok, watching him as he takes aim at Arcade. He keeps his face impassive, but he's ready to spring into action all the same. "Tell us Arcade, tell us now." Arcade smiles. "You got me....my controls on you were meant to work upstairs, not down here. Just...hit those two buttons at once, you'll turn it off. Power it down. Red and blue, I mean. Top corner." He looks like he's almost dead, which is fair. "You all were brilliant, by the way. I really thought you'd died in the quicksand, so wonderful...I'm so proud of you all." Nico Minoru shifts quietly as she's shown right up. And just can't bring herself to mind, what with the air turning to thermite in her lungs. She chokes, falling from the sky and into the sand which reaches up to engulf her alive... The demon and the demi-kryptonian battle rages in the sky. Fire shooting from her hands drives it up, and she keeps pouring it on...and the demon is slowly engulfed in the flames. Which, it appears, are effectively like being engulfed in a red sun. The light gets brighter, and then it fades, and the demon is gone. So is Bloodstone though...which might not be the best outcome here. The air is literally turning to thermite up above. The sand is reaching up to kill you if you get away from the air. The bugs are chasing, and trying to get into everything...and Aquagirl, who dives into the water, finds that it too is a living riptide with grappling and squeezing arms. Cammi, hiding inside her closed helmet of her space-suit, is just a hand coming out of the sand now. Slowly sinking in there, as she's squeezed to death slowly underground. Damian eyes Arcade closely before he moves and presses the two buttons Arcade indicated. "Don't kill him," he says to Mike as he pushes them. "it's not worth it." Which is when Arcade vanishes. A tiny blip in the air, and he's gone. Spice, making some headway on the computer system, says dryly, "I realize I've had a bit more experience with subterfuge than you two have, but please please tell me I'm not the only one who saw that coming?" As she causes a short circuit, and the system starts to power down. Slowly...too slowly. "Oh for god's sakes shoot this mother fucking thing!" Michael Collins stares down at Arcade along the barrel of his big weapon, silent for several moments after Damian pushes the buttons. Mentally, he works out the wisdom of his words. Then, he's gone as if in answer. Bah. Mike turns the gun on the controls after this, and fires a fuscillade of plasma into it if nothing positive comes of following the maniac's answer. ---- Then suddenly it's over. Coming out of the sand, out of the water and the sky. Out of the earth, as the cave entrance opens up, everyone begins to take stock of what they've done. What they've lost...and who. Someone's found Cir-El a blanket for clothing, but everyone's quiet. Because what can you say? Until Cammi says, from where she sits on a rock by the sand, "What do we tell everyone?" Nico Minoru looks up. Her makeup is shit. And she's tired. "Whu?" Wow, got a lot going for her now. Michael Collins will climb out of the shelter, allowing the others to use him for a lift, along the route made by Cir-El. When he's out, off comes the helmet and he exhales,"I guess it's over now." Cir-El is trying to make sure eveyone's alive..or at least as close as possible. "It's over. It'd better be over." Dedrick simply sits down on the ground and puts his head into his hands. This is going to give him nightmares for the forseeable future. He does note that Cir-El is alive, but he doesn't comment on it. He's so tired, now that the adrenaline rush is fading. "I need a vaction." He murmurs to nobody in particular. Spice looks at everyone. She winces immediately, knowing that she's going to jail. Maybe worse. No hero school for her. Damian slumps down in the grass and frowns. "The truth," he answers Cammi's question. "And yes, it better be over." Michael Collins frowns a bit at Spice, his gaze narrow as he considers. After a moment, he states,"I'm guessing you have some sort of conscience. Everything you tried, and that maniac would've killed you anyway and showed it all to the world. Doubt there's any evidence now though. I know people who are likely going to erase it all. I also may know one or two who can fix you back up. Just sayin'." Cammi looks at Spice from across the way. Then sighs, and says, "Hey. Spice. I know a freighter leaving Earth in a few hours. Wanna be on it? They could use a tech." A peace offering, even for her. Because she's a survivor too. ---- Arcade sits. On a beach. In the Caribbean. Somewhere with no extradiction treaty. Somewhere the heroes can't find him. Sipping an iced drink and toasting himself, wearing a swimsuit and a bow tie. "That was the best. Now I just have to think how to top it." Enjoying himself malevolently wtih thoughts of future mayhem. IT is interrupted by a glow building in the air. A big, pulsating, bright glow. Stepping out of the glow is what best can be described as a.. Thirty foot tall giant robot. Festooned with a cape, a massive shield on his back, and more weapons on his body than a Hulkbuster. Arcade just stares, "I didn't stage a production.." A mace the size of his upper body is pointed at him by the morbidly grinning robot with two massive horns. "Arcade, yes?" The robot speaks. And a cannon accompanies it to point over at Arcade the size of his torso. Arcade stammers, "That's me." Puffing out his chest. "Come to look for gainful employment?" The robot, Death's Head towers above him. "Already engaged. Significant money on your head. Lots of it. Here to collect." Arcade stares. "What do you mean, lot of money! I've checked. There's -none- on me." Death's Head grins down at him. "Not -yet-. But will be. Here to collect ahead of time. Makes much easier." Arcade's stammer turns to as cream of terror as the big, hulking robot grabs him and then vanishes back into and out of the timestream. And there is just an empty, upturned chair on a beach and an empty glass.